Is this you?
'The non-diet approach to food and health sounds great! But how does it actually benefit me?'
I'm so glad you asked!
In this post I share 6 Benefits of Intuitive Eating.
I've also summarised them below in visual format too.
1. Feel satisfied from food
Yes this is allowed! And important! Intuitive Eating encourages the discovery of foods to determine how they make you feel. It's from this exploration that you as an individual can work out what foods you enjoy, which ones satisfy you, energise you and feel the best in your body. This is all without the interference and overwhelm from apps, meal plans and food rules. This is an entirely different way to experience food and one that has the outcome of increased satisfaction.
2. Time for what you enjoy
How much time are you currently spending worrying about what to eat, what not to eat and what you weigh? How much are you missing out on in life worrying about such things? Imagine gaining a life back with time for what you enjoy. Intuitive Eating cultivates a positive relationship to food and your body. This translates to socialising without worry, travelling and embracing hobbies that make you happy.
3. Enjoying foods without guilt
Guilt has no place on your plate. How's it been working out for you to have it? Guilt around food choices is normal in our diet-culture riddled society. And it's this guilt that further drives unhelpful eating behaviours such as over-eating and restriction. Imagine instead enjoying all foods without guilt. Food itself has no morality. And when we learn to lose the guilt as Intuitive Eaters, we begin to experience all the foods that we love with increased satisfaction and less likelihood of over-eating.
4. Body respect and appreciation
You weren't born loathing your body and trying to change it. Even though it may seem that way, these thoughts were in fact learnt. And Intuitive Eating allows instead for the development of body respect and appreciation. We tend to think of characteristics such as humour as inherited, though we're not so willing to accept that about our own body size and shape. This acceptance of what's mostly genetic allows for you to live your best life now and not in constant pursuit of a lower weight.
5. Honour your health
This is the thing, we want to feel good. We want to feel energised, satisfied and happy from the food we eat. That's innate. And Intuitive Eating allows for us to once again reconnect with that state of being. Intuitive Eaters are more likely than dieters [1] to make consistent food choices that honour their health because they want to, because it feels good. And not because they're "meant to."
6. Movement you love
Perhaps you engage in exercise to manipulate your weight? Maybe you hate it? Or is movement not even part of your life? Intuitive Eating allows for you to discover and embrace the type(s) of movement that you love because they feel good. Which means you'll do them more consistently and reap their vast benefits. There isn't one way to exercise though all options confer benefit and help us to feel even better in our bodies and mind.
And this list is just the tip of the iceberg!
Overall, Intuitive Eating studies have had positive results. Demonstrating improvements in eating habits, lifestyle, body image, physical activity, mental health, quality of life and metabolic fitness including blood glucose control blood pressure [1] [2].
If you'd like to learn more about Intuitive Eating, I wrote about it here. You can also enrol in my self-paced online program here or reach out for 1:1 coaching here.
References: